‘Japa’ ambitions face hurdle of higher costs

Many Nigerians who want to relocate abroad are facing higher costs of achieving their goals as soaring inflation has exacerbated the cost of living crisis in the country.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has in recent years seen a mass exodus of talent, popularly called ‘japa’ (a Yoruba word for “run quickly”), which has led to the dearth of skilled workers in several sectors including healthcare.

Isaac Kingsley, a National Youth Service Corp member, had hoped to travel abroad for his postgraduate programme immediately after service but the continued decline in the value of the naira against the dollar is threatening his plans.

“I don’t know what to do now; my plans are not going accordingly. The surging exchange rate has left me confused. Initially, I was thinking of having my younger ones take over my business at Ladipo, but I’m now considering selling off the shop to raise the money,” he said.

Peter Bahago, a Nigerian who studied at Leeds Beckett University, paid about N5.7 million (£11,000) for his postgraduate programme in 2021. But now, going by the prevailing exchange rate, the same programme costs nothing less than N13.4 million, a 136 percent increase in cost.

Bunmi Apologun, a public health postgraduate student of the University of South Wales, paid N14.5 million (£15,100) in 2023. But the same programme now costs N18.4 million, using the current exchange rate.

According to Apologun, the cost excludes the flight ticket and other concomitant expenses.

“Flight ticket cost varies according to airlines and the time. Previously it was between N950,000 to N1.2 million, but now it’s N1.8 million to N2.5 million,” she said.

Flight cost from Lagos to the London (economy class) is now N3,289,120 ($2,696), premium economy class, N3,630,720 ($2,976), and business class, N10,487,120 ($8,596), BusinessDay findings show.

With the lingering FX scarcity in the country, banks are struggling to meet the needs of individuals seeking to study abroad through the Form A process.

Currently, it cost about N1,000 to get one dollar on the official market and around N1,300 in the black market.

Oludayo Sokunbi, who is into academic consulting, highlighted on X the surging cost of studying abroad due to what he called “naira inflation”.

He said an individual needs at least N25 million for Masters of Science in the UK, N22 million for a two-year course in Canada, N25 million for a two-year course in the United States of America and N30 million in Australia.

Nigeria’s economic woes coupled with the nation’s lack of transnational education has triggered the preference of many Nigerians to leave for greener pastures.

Many Nigerians seeking international education have a strong focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which sees many students in both the undergraduate and postgraduate categories enrolled in courses such as engineering, mathematics and health.

Other factors driving students’ interest in foreign education include rising insecurity, lecturers’ strikes, high youth unemployment and underinvestment in tertiary education compared with global standards.

Another major reason for the interest in foreign education among young Nigerians is the improved job prospects coupled with a perceived preference for foreign degrees by many employers in the country.

Each year, there is a significant rise in the number of students moving abroad for education despite the huge costs of financing such moves.